Chapter XII: Book III: Chap. I (8)

In the morning of the 10th, we saw clearly that what had appeared to be land the night before, was Timor. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 10° 1ʹ S., which was fifteen miles to the southward of that given by the log; our longitude, by observation, was 233° 27ʹ W. We steered N. W. in order to obtain a more distinct view of the land in sight, till four o’clock in the morning of the 11th, when the wind came to the N. W. and W., with which we stood to the southward till nine, when we tacked and stood N. W., having the wind now at W. S. W. At sun-rise, the land had appeared to extend from W. N. W. to N. E., and at noon, we could see it extend to the westward as far as W. by S. ½ S., but no farther to the eastward than N. by E. We were now well assured, that as the first land we had seen was Timor, the last island we had passed was Timor Laoet, or Laut. Laoet is a word, in the language of Malaca, signifying sea, and this island was named by the inhabitants of that country. The south part of it lies in latitude 8° 15ʹ S., longitude 228° 10ʹ W., but in the charts the south point is laid down in various latitudes, from 8° 30ʹ to 9° 30ʹ: it is indeed possible that the land we saw might be some other island, but the presumption to the contrary is very strong, for if Timor Laut had lain where it is placed in the charts, we must have seen it there. We were now in latitude 9° 37ʹ S.; longitude, by an observation of the sun and moon, 233° 54ʹ W.; we were the day before in 233° 27ʹ; the difference is 27ʹ, exactly the same that was given by the log: this, however, is a degree of accuracy in observation that is seldom to be expected. In the afternoon, we stood in shore till eight in the evening, when we tacked and stood off, being at the distance of about three leagues from the land, which at sun-set extended from S. W. ½ W. to N. E.: at this time we sounded, and had no ground with 140 fathom. At midnight, having but little wind, we tacked and stood in, and at noon the next day, our latitude, by observation, was 9° 36ʹ S. This day, we saw smoke on shore in several places, and had seen many fires during the night. The land appeared to be very high, rising in gradual slopes one above another: the hills were in general covered with thick woods, but among them we could distinguish naked spots of a considerable extent, which had the appearance of having been cleared by art. At five o’clock in the afternoon, we were within a mile and a half of the shore, in sixteen fathom water, and abreast of a small inlet into the low land, which lies in latitude 9° 34ʹ S., and probably is the same that Dampier entered with his boat, for it did not seem to have sufficient depth of water for a ship. The land here answered well to the description that he has given of it: close to the beach, it was covered with high spiry trees, which he mentions as having the appearance of pines; behind these there seemed to be salt-water creeks, and many mangroves, interspersed however with cocoa-nut trees: the flat land at the beach appeared in some places to extend inward two or three miles before the rise of the first hill; in this part, however, we saw no appearance of plantations or houses, but great fertility, and from the number of fires, we judged that the place must be well peopled.

When we had approached within a mile and a half of the shore, we tacked and stood off, and the extremes of the coast then extended from N. E. by E. to W. by S. ½ S. The south-westerly extremity was a low point, distant from us about three leagues. While we were standing in for the shore, we sounded several times, but had no ground till we came within about two miles and a half, and then we had five and twenty fathom, with a soft bottom. After we had tacked, we stood off till midnight, with the wind at S.; we then tacked and stood two hours to the westward, when the wind veered to S. W. and W. S. W., and we then stood to the southward again. In the morning, we found the variation to be 1° 10ʹ W. by the amplitude, and by the azimuth 1° 27ʹ. At noon, our latitude was, by observation, 9° 45ʹ S., our longitude 234° 12ʹ W.; we were then about seven leagues distant from the land, which extended from N. 31 E., to W. S. W. ½ W.

With light land breezes from W. by N. for a few hours in a morning, and sea breezes from S. S. W. and S., we advanced to the westward but slowly. At noon, on the 14th, we were between six and seven leagues from the land, which extended from N. by E., to S. 78 W.; we still saw smoke in many places by day, and fire by night, both upon the low land and the mountains beyond it. We continued steering along the shore, till the morning of the 15th, the land still appearing hilly, but not so high as it had been: the hills in general came quite down to the sea, and where they did not, we saw, instead of flats and mangrove land, immense groves of cocoa-nut trees, reaching about a mile up from the beach: there the plantations and houses commenced, and appeared to be innumerable. The houses were shaded by groves of the fan palm, or _borassus_, and the plantations, which were inclosed by a fence, reached almost to the tops of the highest hills. We saw, however, neither people nor cattle, though our glasses were continually employed, at which we were not a little surprised.

We continued our course, with little variation, till nine o’clock in the morning of the 16th, when we saw the small island called ROTTE; and at noon the island SEMAU, lying off the south end of Timor, bore N. W.

Dampier, who has given a large description of the island of Timor, says, that it is seventy leagues long, and sixteen broad, and that it lies nearly N. E. and S. W. I found the east side of it to lie nearest N. E. by E. and S. W. by W., and the south end to lie in latitude 10° 23ʹ S., longitude 236° 5ʹ W. We ran about forty-five leagues along the east side, and found the navigation altogether free from danger. The land, which is bounded by the sea, except near the south end, is low for two or three miles within the beach, and in general intersected by salt creeks: behind the low land are mountains, which rise one above another to a considerable height. We steered W. N. W. till two in the afternoon, when being within a small distance of the north end of Rotte, we hauled up N. N. W. in order to go between it and Semau: after steering three leagues upon this course, we edged away N. W. and W., and by six we were clear of all the islands. At this time, the south part of Semau, which lies in latitude 10° 15ʹ S., bore N. E., distant four leagues, and the island of Rotte extended as far to the southward as S. 36 W. The north end of this island, and the south end of Timor, lie N. ½ E. and S. ½ W., and are about three or four leagues distant from each other. At the west end of the passage between Rotte and Semau, are two small islands, one of which lies near the Rotte shore, and the other off the south-west point of Semau: there is a good channel between them, about six miles broad, through which we passed. The isle of Rotte has not so lofty and mountainous an appearance as Timor, though it is agreeably diversified by hill and valley: on the north side, there are many sandy beaches, near which grew some trees of the fan palm, but the far greater part was covered with a kind of brushy wood, that was without leaves. The appearance of Semau was nearly the same with that of Timor, but not quite so high. About ten o’clock at night, we observed a phænomenon in the heavens, which, in many particulars, resembled the aurora borealis, and in others was very different: it consisted of a dull reddish light, and reached about twenty degrees above the horizon: its extent was very different at different times, but it was never less than eight or ten points of the compass: through and out of this passed rays of light of a brighter colour, which vanished, and were renewed nearly in the same time as those of the aurora borealis, but had no degree of the tremulous or vibratory motion which is observed in that phænomenon: the body of it bore S. S. E. from the ship, and it continued without any diminution of its brightness, till twelve o’clock, when we retired to sleep, but how long afterwards, I cannot tell.

Being clear of all the islands which are laid down in the maps we had on board, between Timor and Java, we steered a west course till six o’clock the next morning, when we unexpectedly saw an island bearing W. S. W., and at first I thought we had made a new discovery. We steered directly for it, and by ten o’clock were close in with the north side of it, where we saw houses, cocoa-nut trees, and to our very agreeable surprise, numerous flocks of sheep. This was a temptation not to be resisted by people in our situation, especially as many of us were in a bad state of health, and many still repining at my not having touched at Timor; it was therefore soon determined to attempt a commerce with people who appeared to be so well able to supply our many necessities, and remove at once the sickness and discontent that had got footing among us. The pinnace was hoisted out, and Mr. Gore, the second lieutenant, sent to see if there was any convenient place to land, taking with him some trifles as presents to the natives, if any of them should appear. While he was gone, we saw from the ship two men on horseback, who seemed to be riding upon the hills for their amusement, and often stopped to look at the ship. By this we knew that the place had been settled by Europeans, and hoped, that the many disagreeable circumstances which always attend the first establishment of commerce with savages, would be avoided. In the mean time, Mr. Gore landed in a small sandy cove near some houses, and was met by eight or ten of the natives, who, as well in their dress as their persons, very much resembled the Malays: they were without arms, except the knives which it is their custom to wear in their girdles, and one of them had a jack-ass with him. They courteously invited him ashore, and conversed with him by signs, but very little of the meaning of either party could be understood by the other. In a short time, he returned with this report, and, to our great mortification, added, that there was no anchorage for the ship. I sent him, however, a second time, with both money and goods, that he might, if possible, purchase some refreshments, at least for the sick; and Dr. Solander went in the boat with him. In the mean time, I kept standing on and off with the ship, which at this time was within about a mile of the shore. Before the boat could land, we saw two other horsemen, one of whom was in a complete European dress, consisting of a blue coat, a white waistcoat, and a laced hat: these people, when the boat came to the shore, took little notice of her, but sauntered about, and seemed to look with great curiosity at the ship. We saw however other horsemen, and a great number of persons on foot, gather round our people, and, to our great satisfaction, perceived several cocoa-nuts carried into the boat, from which we concluded that peace and commerce were established between us.

After the boat had been ashore about an hour and a half, she made the signal for having intelligence that there was a bay to leeward, where we might anchor: we stood away directly for it, and the boat following, soon came on board. The lieutenant told us, that he had seen some of the principal people, who were dressed in fine linen, and had chains of gold round their necks: he said, that he had not been able to trade, because the owner of the cocoa-nuts was absent, but that about two dozen had been sent to the boat as a present, and that some linen had been accepted in return. The people, to give him the information that he wanted, drew a map upon the sand, in which they made a rude representation of a harbour to leeward, and a town near it: they also gave him to understand, that sheep, hogs, fowls, and fruit, might there be procured in great plenty. Some of them frequently pronounced the word Portuguese, and said something of Larntuca upon the island of Ende: from this circumstance, we conjectured that there were Portuguese somewhere upon the island, and a Portuguese, who was in our boat, attempted to converse with the Indians in that language, but soon found that they knew only a word or two of it by rote: one of them, however, when they were giving our people to understand that there was a town near the harbour to which they had directed us, intimated, that as a token of going right, we should see somewhat, which he expressed by crossing his fingers, and the Portuguese instantly conceived that he meant to express a cross. Just as our people were putting off, the horseman in the European dress came up, but the officer not having his commission about him, thought it best to decline a conference.

At seven o’clock in the evening, we came to an anchor in the bay to which we had been directed, at about the distance of a mile from the shore, in thirty-eight fathom water, with a clear sandy bottom. The north point of the bay bore N. 30 E., distant two miles and a half, and the south point, or west end of the island, bore S. 63 W. Just as we got round the north point, and entered the bay, we discovered a large Indian town or village, upon which we stood on, hoisting a jack on the fore top-mast head: soon after, to our great surprise, Dutch colours were hoisted in the town, and three guns fired; we stood on, however, till we had soundings, and then anchored.

As soon as it was light in the morning, we saw the same colours hoisted upon the beach, abreast of the ship; supposing therefore that the Dutch had a settlement here, I sent Lieutenant Gore ashore, to wait upon the Governor, or the chief person residing upon the spot, and acquaint him who we were, and for what purpose we had touched upon the coast. As soon as he came ashore, he was received by a guard of between twenty and thirty Indians, armed with muskets, who conducted him to the town, where the colours had been hoisted the night before, carrying with them those that had been hoisted upon the beach, and marching without any military regularity. As soon as he arrived, he was introduced to the Raja, or King of the island; and by a Portuguese interpreter, told him, that the ship was a man of war belonging to the King of Great Britain, and that she had many sick on board, for whom we wanted to purchase such refreshments as the island afforded. His majesty replied, that he was willing to supply us with whatever we wanted, but that, being in alliance with the Dutch East India Company, he was not at liberty to trade with any other people, without having first procured their consent, for which, however, he said, he would immediately apply to a Dutchman who belonged to the company, and who was the only white man upon the island. To this man, who resided at some distance, a letter was immediately dispatched, acquainting him with our arrival and request: in the mean time, Mr. Gore dispatched a messenger to me, with an account of his situation, and the state of the treaty. In about three hours, the Dutch resident answered the letter that had been sent him, in person: he proved to be a native of Saxony, and his name is Johan Christopher Lange, and the same person whom we had seen on horseback in a European dress: he behaved with great civility to Mr. Gore, and assured him, that we were at liberty to purchase of the natives whatever we pleased. After a short time, he expressed a desire of coming on board, so did the King also, and several of his attendants: Mr. Gore intimated that he was ready to attend them, but they desired that two of our people might be left ashore as hostages: and in this also they were indulged.

About two o’clock, they all came aboard the ship, and our dinner being ready, they accepted our invitation to partake of it: I expected them immediately to sit down, but the King seemed to hesitate, and at last, with some confusion, said, he did not imagine that we, who were white men, would suffer him, who was of a different colour, to sit down in our company; a compliment soon removed his scruples, and we all sat down together with great cheerfulness and cordiality: happily we were at no loss for interpreters, both Dr. Solander and Mr. Sporing understanding Dutch enough to keep up a conversation with Mr. Lange, and several of the seamen were able to converse with such of the natives as spoke Portuguese. Our dinner happened to be mutton, and the King expressed a desire of having an English sheep; we had but one left, however that was presented to him: the facility with which this was procured, encouraged him to ask for an English dog, and Mr. Banks politely gave up his greyhound: Mr Lange then intimated that a spying-glass would be acceptable, and one was immediately put into his hand. Our guests then told us, that the island abounded with buffaloes, sheep, hogs, and fowls, plenty of which should be driven down to the beach the next day, that we might purchase as many of them as we should think fit: this put us all into high spirits, and the liquor circulated rather faster than either the Indians or the Saxon could bear; they intimated their desire to go away, however, before they were quite drunk, and were received upon deck, as they had been when they came aboard, by the marines under arms. The King expressed a curiosity to see them exercise, in which he was gratified, and they fired three rounds: he looked at them with great attention, and was much surprised at their regularity and expedition, especially in cocking their pieces; the first time they did it, he struck the side of the ship with a stick that he had in his hand, and cried out with great vehemence, that all the locks made but one clink. They were dismissed with many presents, and when they went away saluted with nine guns: Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went ashore with them; and as soon as they put off they gave us three cheers.

Our gentlemen, when they came ashore, walked up with them to the town, which consists of many houses, and some of them are large; they are however nothing more than a thatched roof, supported over a boarded floor by pillars about four feet high. They produced some of their palm-wine, which was the fresh unfermented juice of the tree; it had a sweet, but not a disagreeable taste; and hopes were conceived that it might contribute to recover our sick from the scurvy. Soon after it was dark, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander returned on board.

In the morning of the 19th, I went ashore with Mr. Banks, and several of the officers and gentlemen, to return the King’s visit; but my chief business was to procure some of the buffaloes, sheep, and fowls, which we had been told should be driven down to the beach. We were greatly mortified to find, that no steps had been taken to fulfil this promise; however, we proceeded to the house of assembly, which, with two or three more, had been erected by the Dutch East-India Company, and are distinguished from the rest by two pieces of wood resembling a pair of cow’s horns, one of which is set up at each end of the ridge that terminates the roof; and these were certainly what the Indian intended to represent by crossing his fingers, though our Portuguese, who was a good Catholic, construed the sign into a cross, which had persuaded us that the settlement belonged to his countrymen. In this place we met Mr. Lange and the King, whose name was A Madocho Lomi Djara, attended by many of the principal people. We told them that we had in the boat goods of various kinds, which we proposed to barter for such refreshments as they would give us in exchange, and desired leave to bring them on shore; which being granted, they were brought ashore accordingly. We then attempted to settle the price of the buffaloes, sheep, hogs, and other commodities which we proposed to purchase, and for which we were to pay in money; but as soon as this was mentioned, Mr. Lange left us, telling us, that these preliminaries must be settled with the natives: he said, however, that he had received a letter from the Governor of Concordia in Timor, the purport of which he would communicate to us when he returned.

As the morning was now far advanced, and we were very unwilling to return on board and eat salt provisions, when so many delicacies surrounded us ashore, we petitioned his Majesty for liberty to purchase a small hog and some rice, and to employ his subjects to dress them for us. He answered very graciously, that if we could eat victuals dressed by his subjects, which he could scarcely suppose, he would do himself the honour of entertaining us. We expressed our gratitude, and immediately sent on board for liquors.

About five o’clock, dinner was ready; it was served in six-and-thirty dishes, or rather baskets, containing alternately rice and pork; and three bowls of earthen ware, filled with the liquor in which the pork had been boiled: these were ranged upon the floor, and mats laid round them for us to sit upon. We were then conducted by turns to a hole in the floor, near which stood a man with water in a vessel, made of the leaves of the fan-palm, who assisted us in washing our hands. When this was done, we placed ourselves round the victuals, and waited for the King. As he did not come, we inquired for him, and were told that the custom of the country did not permit the person who gave the entertainment to sit down with his guests; but that, if we suspected the victuals to be poisoned, he would come and taste it. We immediately declared that we had no such suspicion, and desired that none of the rituals of hospitality might be violated on our account. The prime minister and Mr. Lange were of our party, and we made a most luxurious meal: we thought the pork and rice excellent, and the broth not to be despised; but the spoons, which were made of leaves, were so small, that few of us had patience to use them. After dinner, our wine passed briskly about, and we again inquired for our royal host, thinking that though the custom of his country would not allow him to eat with us, he might at least share in the jollity of our bottle; but he again excused himself, saying, that the master of a feast should never be drunk, which there was no certain way to avoid but by not tasting the liquor. We did not, however, drink our wine where we had eaten our victuals; but as soon as we had dined, made room for the seamen and servants, who immediately took our places: they could not dispatch all that we had left, but the women who came to clear away the bowls and baskets, obliged them to carry away with them what they had not eaten. As wine generally warms and opens the heart, we took an opportunity, when we thought its influence began to be felt, to revive the subject of the buffaloes and sheep, of which we had not in all this time heard a syllable, though they were to have been brought down early in the morning. But our Saxon Dutchman, with great phlegm, began to communicate to us the contents of the letter which he pretended to have received from the Governor of Concordia. He said, that after acquainting him that a vessel had steered from thence towards the island where we were now ashore, it required him, if such ship should apply for provisions in distress, to relieve her; but not to suffer her to stay longer than was absolutely necessary, nor to make any large presents to the inferior people, or to leave any with those of superior rank to be afterwards distributed among them: but he was graciously pleased to add, that we were at liberty to give beads and other trifles in exchange for petty civilities, and palm-wine.

It was the general opinion, that this letter was a fiction; that the prohibitory orders were feigned with a view to get money from us for breaking them; and that, by precluding our liberality to the natives, this man hoped more easily to turn it into another channel.

In the evening, we received intelligence from our trading-place that no buffaloes or hogs had been brought down, and only a few sheep, which had been taken away before our people, who had sent for money, could procure it. Some fowls, however, had been bought, and a large quantity of a kind of syrup made of the juice of the palm-tree, which, though infinitely superior to molasses or treacle, sold at a very low price. We complained of our disappointment to Mr. Lange, who had now another subterfuge; he said, that if we had gone down to the beach ourselves, we might have purchased what we pleased; but that the natives were afraid to take money of our people, lest it should be counterfeit. We could not but feel some indignation against a man who had concealed this, being true; or alleged it, being false. I started up, however, and went immediately to the beach, but no cattle or sheep were to be seen, nor were any at hand to be produced. While I was gone, Lange, who knew well enough that I should succeed no better than my people, told Mr. Banks that the natives were displeased at our not having offered them gold for their stock; and that if gold was not offered, nothing would be bought. Mr. Banks did not think it worth his while to reply, but soon after rose up, and we all returned on board, very much dissatisfied with the issue of our negociations. During the course of the day, the king had promised that some cattle and sheep should be brought down in the morning, and had given a reason for our disappointment somewhat more plausible; he said that the buffaloes were far up the country, and that there had not been time to bring them down to the beach.

The next morning we went ashore again: Dr. Solander went up to the town to speak to Lange, and I remained upon the beach, to see what could be done in the purchase of provisions. I found here an old Indian, who, as he appeared to have some authority, we had among ourselves called the prime minister; to engage this man in our interest, I presented him with a spying-glass, but I saw nothing at market except one small buffalo. I enquired the price of it, and was told five guineas: this was twice as much as it was worth; however, I offered three, which I could perceive the man who treated with me thought a good price; but he said he must acquaint the king with what I had offered before he could take it. A messenger was immediately dispatched to his majesty, who soon returned, and said, that the buffalo would not be sold for any thing less than five guineas. This price I absolutely refused to give; and another messenger was sent away with an account of my refusal: this messenger was longer absent than the other, and while I was waiting for his return, I saw, to my great astonishment, Dr. Solander coming from the town, followed by above a hundred men, some armed with muskets, and some with lances. When I enquired the meaning of this hostile appearance, the Doctor told me, that Mr. Lange had interpreted to him a message from the King, purporting that the people would not trade with us, because we had refused to give them more than half the value of what they had to sell; and that we should not be permitted to trade upon any terms longer than this day. Besides the officers who commanded the party, there came with it a man who was born at Timor, of Portuguese parents, and who, as we afterwards discovered, was a kind of colleague to the Dutch factor; by this man, what they pretended to be the King’s order, was delivered to me, of the same purport with that which Dr. Solander had received from Lange. We were all clearly of opinion that this was a mere artifice of the factors to extort money from us, for which we had been prepared by the account of a letter from Concordia; and while we were hesitating what step to take, the Portuguese, that he might the sooner accomplish his purpose, began to drive away the people who had brought down poultry and syrup, and others that were now coming in with buffaloes and sheep. At this time, I glanced my eye upon the old man whom I had complimented in the morning with the spying-glass, and I thought, by his looks, that he did not heartily approve of what was doing; I therefore took him by the hand, and presented him with an old broad sword. This instantly turned the scale in our favour, he received the sword with a transport of joy, and flourishing it over the busy Portuguese, who crouched like a fox to a lion, he made him, and the officer who commanded the party, sit down upon the ground behind him: the people, who, whatever were the crafty pretences of these iniquitous factors for a Dutch company, were eager to supply us with whatever we wanted, and seemed also to be more desirous of goods than money, instantly improved the advantage that had been procured them, and the market was stocked almost in an instant. To establish a trade for buffaloes, however, which I most wanted, I found it necessary to give ten guineas for two, one of which weighed no more than a hundred and sixty pounds; but I bought seven more much cheaper, and might afterwards have purchased as many as I pleased almost upon my own terms, for they were now driven down to the water side in herds. In the first two that I bought so dear, Lange had certainly a share, and it was in hopes to obtain part of the price of others, that he had pretended that we must pay for them in gold. The natives, however, sold what they afterwards brought down much to their satisfaction, without paying part of the price to him as a reward for exacting money from us. Most of the buffaloes that we bought, after our friend, the prime minister, had procured us a fair market, were sold for a musket a piece, and at this price we might have bought as many as would have freighted our ship.

The refreshments which we procured here, consisted of nine buffaloes, six sheep, three hogs, thirty dozen of fowls, a few limes, and some cocoa-nuts; many dozen of eggs, half of which however proved to be rotten; a little garlic, and several hundred gallons of palm-syrup.

CHAP. IX.

A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF SAVU, ITS PRODUCE AND
INHABITANTS, WITH A SPECIMEN OF THEIR LANGUAGE.

THIS island is called by the natives SAVU; the middle of it lies in about the latitude 10° 35ʹ S., longitude 237° 30ʹ W.; and has in general been so little known that I never saw a map or chart in which it is clearly or accurately laid down. I have seen a very old one, in which it is called Sou, and confounded with Sandel Bosch. Rumphius mentions an island by the name of Saow; and he also says, that it is the same which the Dutch call Sandel Bosch; but neither is this island, nor Timor, nor Rotte, nor indeed any one of the islands that we have seen in these seas, placed within a reasonable distance of its true situation. It is about eight leagues long from east to west; but what is its breadth, I do not know, as I saw only the north side. The harbour in which we lay is called Seba, from the district in which it lies: it is on the north-west side of the island, and well sheltered from the south-west trade-wind, but it lies open to the north-west. We were told, that there were two other bays where ships might anchor; that the best, called Timo, was on the south-west side of the south-east point: of the third we learnt neither the name nor situation. The sea-coast, in general, is low; but in the middle of the island there are hills of a considerable height. We were upon the coast at the latter end of the dry season, when there had been no rain for seven months; and we were told that when the dry season continues so long, there is no running stream of fresh water upon the whole island, but only small springs, which are at a considerable distance from the sea-side: yet nothing can be imagined so beautiful as the prospect of the country from the ship. The level ground next to the sea-side was covered with cocoa-nut trees, and a kind of palm called _Arecas_; and beyond them the hills, which rose in a gentle and regular ascent, were richly clothed, quite to the summit, with plantations of the fan-palm, forming an almost impenetrable grove. How much even this prospect must be improved, when every foot of ground between the trees is covered with verdure, by maize, and millet, and indigo, can scarcely be conceived but by a powerful imagination, not unacquainted with the stateliness and beauty of the trees that adorn this part of the earth. The dry season commences in March or April, and ends in October or November.

The principal trees of this island are the fan-palm, the cocoa-nut, tamarind, limes, oranges, and mangoes; and other vegetable productions are maize, Guinea corn, rice, millet, callevances, and water-melons. We saw also one sugar-cane, and a few kinds of European garden-stuff; particularly celery, marjoram, fennel, and garlic. For the supply of luxury, it has betel, areca, tobacco, cotton, indigo, and a small quantity of cinnamon, which seems to be planted here only for curiosity; and indeed we doubted whether it was the genuine plant, knowing that the Dutch are very careful not to trust the spices out of their proper islands. There are however several kinds of fruit, besides those which have been already mentioned; particularly the sweet sop, which is well known to the West Indians, and a small oval fruit, called the _Blimbi_, both of which grow upon trees. The blimbi is about three or four inches long, and in the middle about as thick as a man’s finger, tapering towards each end: it is covered with a very thin skin of a light green colour, and in the inside are a few seeds disposed in the form of a star: its flavour is a light, clean, pleasant acid, but it cannot be eaten raw; it is said to be excellent as a pickle; and stewed, it made a most agreeable sour sauce to our boiled dishes.

The tame animals are buffaloes, sheep, goats, hogs, fowls, pigeons, horses, asses, dogs and cats; and of all these there is great plenty. The buffaloes differ very considerably from the horned cattle of Europe in several particulars; their ears are much larger, their skins are almost without hair, their horns are curved towards each other, but together bend directly backwards, and they have no dewlaps. We saw several that were as big as a well grown European ox, and there must be some much larger; for Mr. Banks saw a pair of horns which measured from tip to tip three feet nine inches and an half, across their widest diameter four feet one inch and an half, and in the whole sweep of their semicircle in front seven feet six inches and a half. It must however be observed, that a buffalo here of any given size, does not weigh above half as much as an ox of the same size in England: those that we guessed to weigh four hundred weight did not weigh more than two hundred and fifty; the reason is, that so late in the dry season the bones are very thinly covered with flesh: there is not an ounce of fat in a whole carcase, and the flanks are literally nothing but skin and bone: the flesh however is well tasted and juicy, and I suppose better than the flesh of an English ox would be, if he was to starve in this sun-burnt country.

The horses are from eleven to twelve hands high, but though they are small, they are spirited and nimble, especially in pacing, which is their common step: the inhabitants generally ride them without a saddle, and with no better bridle than a halter. The sheep are of the kind which in England are called Bengal sheep, and differ from ours in many particulars. They are covered with hair instead of wool, their ears are very large, and hang down under their horns, and their noses are arched; they are thought to have a general resemblance to a goat, and for that reason are frequently called _cabritos_: their flesh we thought the worst mutton we had ever eaten, being as lean as that of the buffalo’s, and without flavour. The hogs, however, were some of the fattest we had ever seen, though, as we were told, their principal food is the outside husks of rice, and the palm syrup dissolved in water. The fowls are chiefly of the game breed, and large, but the eggs are remarkably small.

Of the fish which the sea produces here, we know but little: turtles are sometimes found upon the coast, and are by these people, as well as all others, considered as a dainty.

The people are rather under, than over the middling size; the women especially are remarkably short and squat-built: their complexion is a dark brown, and their hair universally black and lank. We saw no difference in the colour of rich and poor, though in the South Sea islands, those that were exposed to the weather were almost as brown as the New Hollanders, and the better sort nearly as fair as the natives of Europe. The men are in general well-made, vigorous, and active, and have a greater variety in the make and disposition of their features than usual: the countenances of the women, on the contrary, are all alike.

The men fasten their hair up to the top of their heads with a comb, the women tie it behind in a club, which is very far from becoming. Both sexes eradicate the hair from under the arm, and the men do the same by their beards, for which purpose, the better sort always carry a pair of silver pincers hanging by a string round their necks; some however suffer a very little hair to remain upon their upper lips, but this is always kept short.

The dress of both sexes consists of cotton cloth, which being died blue in the yarn, and not uniformly of the same shade, is in clouds or waves of that colour, and even in our eye had not an inelegant appearance. This cloth they manufacture themselves, and two pieces, each about two yards long, and a yard and a half wide, make a dress: one of them is worn round the middle, and the other covers the upper part of the body: the lower edge of the piece that goes round the middle, the men draw pretty tight just below the fork, the upper edge of it is left loose, so as to form a kind of hollow belt, which serves them as a pocket to carry their knives, and other little implements which it is convenient to have about them. The other piece of cloth is passed through this girdle behind, and one end of it being brought over the left shoulder, and the other over the right, they fall down over the breast, and are tucked into the girdle before, so that by opening or closing the plaits, they can cover more or less of their bodies as they please; the arms, legs, and feet are always naked. The difference between the dress of the two sexes consists principally in the manner of wearing the waist-piece, for the women, instead of drawing the lower edge tight, and leaving the upper edge loose for a pocket, draw the upper edge tight, and let the lower edge fall as low as the knees, so as to form a petticoat; the body-piece, instead of being passed through the girdle, is fastened under the arms, and cross the breast, with the utmost decency. I have already observed, that the men fastened the hair upon the top of the head, and the women tie it in a club behind, but there is another difference in the head-dress, by which the sexes are distinguished: the women wear nothing as a succedaneum for a cap, but the men constantly wrap something round their heads in the manner of a fillet; it is small, but generally of the finest materials that can be procured: we saw some who applied silk handkerchiefs to this purpose, and others that wore fine cotton, or muslin, in the manner of a small turban.

These people bore their testimony that the love of finery is an universal passion, for their ornaments were very numerous. Some of the better sort wore chains of gold round their necks, but they were made of plaited wire, and consequently were light and of little value; others had rings, which were so much worn, that they seemed to have descended through many generations; and one person had a silver-headed cane, marked with a kind of cypher, consisting of the Roman letters V, O, C, and therefore probably a present from the Dutch East India Company, whose mark it is: they have also ornaments made of beads, which some wear round their necks as a solitaire, and others, as bracelets, upon their wrists: these are common to both sexes, but the women have besides strings or girdles of beads, which they wear round their waists, and which serve to keep up their petticoat. Both sexes had their ears bored, nor was there a single exception that fell under our notice, yet we never saw an ornament in any of them; we never indeed saw either man or woman in any thing but what appeared to be their ordinary dress, except the king and his minister, who in general wore a kind of night-gown of coarse chintz, and one of whom once received us in a black robe, which appeared to be made of what is called prince’s stuff. We saw some boys, about twelve or fourteen years old, who had spiral circles of thick brass wire passed three or four times round their arms, above the elbow, and some men wore rings of ivory, two inches in breadth, and above an inch in thickness, upon the same part of the arm: these, we were told, were the sons of the rajas, or chiefs, who wore those cumbrous ornaments as badges of their high birth.

Almost all the men had their names traced upon their arms in indelible characters of a black colour, and the women had a square ornament of flourished lines, impressed in the same manner, just under the bend of the elbow. We were struck with the similitude between these marks, and those made by tattowing in the South Sea islands, and upon inquiring into its origin, we learnt that it had been practised by the natives long before any Europeans came among them; and that in the neighbouring islands, the inhabitants were marked with circles upon their necks and breasts. The universality of this practice, which prevails among savages in all parts of the world, from the remotest limits of North America, to the islands in the South Seas, and which probably differs but little from the method of staining the body that was in use among the antient inhabitants of Britain, is a curious subject of speculation.[1]

The houses of Savu are all built upon the same plan, and differ only in size, being large in proportion to the rank and riches of the proprietor. Some are four hundred feet long, and some are not more than twenty: they are all raised upon posts, or piles, about four feet high, one end of which is driven into the ground, and upon the other end is laid a substantial floor of wood, so that there is a vacant space of four feet between the floor of the house and the ground. Upon this floor are placed other posts or pillars, that support a roof of sloping sides, which meet in a ridge at the top, like those of our barns: the eaves of this roof, which is thatched with palm leaves, reach within two feet of the floor, and overhang it as much: the space within is generally divided lengthwise into three equal parts; the middle part, or centre, is inclosed by a partition of four sides, reaching about six feet above the floor, and one or two small rooms are also sometimes taken off from the sides, the rest of the space under the roof is open, so as freely to admit the air and the light: the particular uses of these different apartments, our short stay would not permit us to learn, except that the close room in the center was appropriated to the women.

The food of these people consists of every tame animal in the country, of which the hog holds the first place in their estimation, and the horse the second; next to the horse is the buffalo, next to the buffalo their poultry, and they prefer dogs and cats to sheep and goats. They are not fond of fish, and, I believe, it is never eaten but by the poor people, nor by them, except when their duty or business requires them to be upon the beach, and then every man is furnished with a light casting net, which is girt round him, and makes part of his dress; and with this he takes any small fish which happen to come in his way.

The esculent vegetables and fruits have been mentioned already, but the fan-palm requires more particular notice, for at certain times it is a succedaneum for all other food both to man and beast. A kind of wine, called toddy, is procured from this tree, by cutting the buds which are to produce flowers, soon after their appearance, and tying under them small baskets, made of the leaves, which are so close as to hold liquids without leaking. The juice which trickles into these vessels, is collected by persons who climb the trees for that purpose, morning and evening, and is the common drink of every individual upon the island; yet a much greater quantity is drawn off than is consumed in this use, and of the surplus they make both a syrup and coarse sugar. The liquor is called _dua_, or _duac_, and both the syrup and sugar, _gula_. The syrup is prepared by boiling the liquor down in pots of earthen ware, till it is sufficiently inspissated; it is not unlike treacle in appearance, but is somewhat thicker, and has a much more agreeable taste: the sugar is of a reddish-brown, perhaps the same with the Jugata sugar upon the continent of India, and it was more agreeable to our palates than any cane sugar, unrefined, that we had ever tasted. We were at first afraid that the syrup, of which some of our people eat very great quantities, would have brought on fluxes, but its aperient quality was so very slight, that what effect it produced was rather salutary than hurtful. I have already observed, that it is given with the husks of rice to the hogs, and that they grow enormously fat without taking any other food: we were told also, that this syrup is used to fatten their dogs and their fowls, and that the inhabitants themselves have subsisted upon this alone for several months, when other crops have failed, and animal food has been scarce. The leaves of this tree are also put to various uses, they thatch houses, and make baskets, cups, umbrellas, and tobacco pipes. The fruit is least esteemed, and as the blossoms are wounded for the tuac or toddy, there is not much of it: it is about as big as a large turnip, and covered, like the cocoa-nut, with a fibrous coat, under which are three kernels, that must be eaten before they are ripe, for afterwards they become so hard that they cannot be chewed; in their eatable state they taste not unlike a green cocoa-nut, and, like them, probably they yield a nutriment that is watery and unsubstantial.

The common method of dressing food here is by boiling, and as fire-wood is very scarce, and the inhabitants have no other fuel, they make use of a contrivance to save it, that is not wholly unknown in Europe, but is seldom practised except in camps. They dig a hollow under ground, in a horizontal direction, like a rabbit burrow, about two yards long, and opening into a hole at each end, one of which is large and the other small: by the large hole the fire is put in, and the small one serves for a draught. The earth over this burrow is perforated by circular holes, which communicate with the cavity below; and in these holes are set earthen pots, generally about three to each fire, which are large in the middle, and taper towards the bottom, so that the fire acts upon a large part of their surface. Each of these pots generally contains about eight or ten gallons, and it is surprising to see with how small a quantity of fire they may be kept boiling; a palm leaf, or a dry stalk, thrust in now and then, is sufficient: in this manner they boil all their victuals, and make all their syrup and sugar. It appears by Frazier’s account of his voyage to the South Sea, that the Peruvian Indians have a contrivance of the same kind, and perhaps it might be adopted with advantage by the poor people even of this country, where fuel is very dear.